​43-year-old Brenda Tinyiko Malulele has never looked back after she was granted a learnership by the Gauteng Department of Social Development 13 years go. 
Maluleke, who works as a Social Worker at Johannesburg Metro Region is one extraordinary worker and is being celebrated by the Weekly Bulletin this month.

Speaking to Weekly Bulletin, Maluleke said her successful journey as a social service practitioner stared when she was admitted to a Social Auxiliary Work learnership programme in 2009.

She fell in love with the profession and further studied towards a degree funded by the Department.

“I am currently doing my Masters’ Degree in Child Protection with the University of North West,” she said.

“I have discovered my purpose as a child activist and I will continue to serve the most vulnerable groups in society, especially the voiceless. I want to bring change; I want to help people so that they can help themselves. I want to empower them to change their backgrounds as I did with mine,” added Maluleke.

She said that Social Work is what she lives and breathes, and very resourceful in the following child protection services: early intervention, educational support, prevention and awareness programmes, substance abuse, teenage pregnancy, crime prevention, hygiene and sexuality to name a few.

“My words of encouragement to all the women is that they need to understand selfcare. Identify and understand traits of mental health as well as how to curb them before they get to a point of hospitalisation.”
“Most employees have a vast variety of financial problems, as we all know that the employees did not receive increment for the past three years and expected to stretch the salary even to the affected family members who lost their jobs due to Covid-19. My female colleagues are not immune to the vast economic crisis that affect their day to day activities, like the continuous rise of petrol, inflation and increase in food prices as well as what most may call black tax.”

“I encourage them to live within their means and avoid bad credit. Try and survive with a 2019 salary in 2022, as the government employees have not had an increase in three years,” she added.